chengkp75

The thing is, most of the reason cruise ships are switching to LNG is cost. LNG beats traditional fuel in the North America market cost wise, somewhat less attractive in Europe (though their infrastructure is better), and non-existent in Asia. The beauty for the cruise lines is that they can claim less emissions by only monitoring CO2, not methane (which is not required), and leave the blame for more damage by LNG to those entities further up the supply chain. The cruise lines' "environmental promise" is just PR pandering.

Draft is not a problem, but air draft is. You will notice that the mast on the JFK was removed to get her under the bridges. This, and the length of the river transit (pilotage fees, closed casinos) are what made Philly untenable as a cruise port. Along with the closeness of NYC and Baltimore.

Crystalspin is correct, that indicates a fire zone boundary, and there will be a sliding or folding door in the hallway that will be deployed automatically in case of a fire. The balcony divider between two cabins on opposite sides of a fire boundary are capable of opening, as the ability of dividers to open is based on allowing fire teams to move from one balcony to the next, not passenger convenience. However, the divider will not be allowed to open, as fire jumping fire boundaries on balconies is the reason the Star Princess fire got so out of hand. Further, as Crystalspin points out, the Musica was built in 2005, and the requirement for opening balcony dividers was not instituted until after the Star Princess fire in 2006. Maritime safety updates generally are not retroactive, so the Musica is not required to have opening dividers. Many ships built before 2006 have retrofitted opening dividers, so the majority of them on the ship may be openable, but not between these two cabins.

Yes, and these are cargo ships with much less fuel consumption than a cruise ship, and are currently filled by LNG tanker trucks, which is possible during the 1-2 days the ship is in harbor, but which is not feasible for the amount of fuel a cruise ship would need to bunker. I don't know that California has any specific concerns with LNG, but studies have shown that in the "well to wake" analysis of CO2 emissions (all effects of the fuel from the well, through processing, transportation, and distribution, to the burning in the ship's engines, that LNG, while cleaner in "hull to wake" (the actual burning of the fuel on the ship) is cleaner in both short term and long term (20 and 100 year analysis), in the "well to wake" it is significantly worse for CO2 emissions in the long term (20 and 100 year analysis), when burned in the types of engines used in cruise ships. "Methane slip" or the amount of unburned natural gas lost from "well to wake" is significantly more damaging than an equivalent amount of CO2, I've seen reports of 200 times as harmful over 100 years.

Since this is a totally domestic cruise, on a US flag vessel, there would be no problem with joining the ship later. The only thing is that you should notify them immediately if you miss embarkation so they don't cancel your reservation. Your cabin would not be sold to anyone else, but they need to keep the reservation open.

Yes, this is why there are about 20 or so ports in the US that can supply shore power to cargo ships, but only about 4-5 that can accommodate cruise ships. A cargo ship needs about 700kw of power at the dock, while a cruise ship needs 7-8,000kw, and the cargo ship needs 480v power (normal land industrial power), while the cruise ship requires 10,000v power (what comes from the "high tension" long distance transmission lines).

I think the vast majority of San Francisco cruise ship calls are "turn around" days, and therefore, they are adding in the value of food and supplies purchased locally, as well as food and lodging from passengers arriving a day or two early or staying after. This depends. Yes, as I've said, the US created, in conjunction with Canada, the North American ECA, which restricts emissions from ships by restricting sulfur content in fuel below what is allowed in the rest of the world. (0.1% sulfur, against 0.5% worldwide) The IMO adopted the US/Canada proposal, and it applies to all ships. So, nations can impose stricter standards, in certain conditions, over ships, especially if they gain approval from the IMO for the restriction. Here you run into the most gray of legal areas, the overlapping jurisdiction between "port state" (the nation where the ship is located) and "flag state" (the nation where the ship is registered), when a ship is in another nation's waters. In the interest of international commerce amity, it is generally held that things that are "external" to the ship (sales taxes, commerce, customs, pollution, etc) fall under the jurisdiction of the "port state", and the port state is free to impose whatever laws they wish. "Internal" policies and procedures on the ship (crew wages, working conditions, ship construction, safety, operation and maintenance, etc) are held to be under the jurisdiction of the "flag state", unless the "safety or good order" of the port state is affected. In addition to the 3 ECA's I mentioned, there are specific areas of the world that have stricter garbage or sewage disposal regulations, some of these the countries involved have submitted to the IMO and are adopted into the international conventions, some only apply to areas within a country's territorial waters, and they are free to impose those limits on all ships. Probably not. There is a whole department dedicated to handling the food in storage (they don't do anything about preparation). This "provisions" department will grade boxes of produce when it comes onboard to say "this box is used first, these can be used in a couple of days, and these can hold for the end of the voyage", based on the condition of the product at delivery. Then, once in the walk-in coolers, which have ozone generators in them, and CO2 monitors to control venting (both of which can control ripening), they will go through boxes daily and pick out produce that has started to go off, and dispose of it, tomato by tomato, to keep it from affecting the rest of the case. In many cases, they will specify to the supplier that they want 5 cases of ripe bananas, and 20 cases of green bananas.

To us here in Maine, where we have the second most craft breweries per capita, it is still considered to be a "volume" based distinction. While most craft breweries jumped whole hog into the IPA craze (doubles, triples), I've never been a big fan of highly hopped beer. I prefer a more malty beer, and we are starting to see the craft breweries realizing that they have pretty much exhausted the IPA genre, and are starting to introduce reds, browns, whitbeers, and English ales. And, while Sam Adams continues to successfully lobby the craft brewers' association to increase the volume limit annually to whatever they produce, I don't think of any of the beers you listed as "craft" beer. "Niche" beer maybe, but not craft. No truly craft beer could have the production a cruise line would need for their ships, and still have enough for local distribution.

The vast majority of crew remain onboard during dry dock. They form a cheap labor source for many jobs like daily worksite cleaning up after contractors, and fire watch for shipyard cutting/welding. Then there are the crew who have to service the hundreds of contractors who sleep and eat onboard. Pretty much, only entertainers, concessionaires, and those crew with contracts ending will leave the ship when it goes into dry dock. They also have to start cleaning the ship during the sea trials and any deadhead passage.

As Andy (Heidi13) says, the IMO (International Maritime Organization, part of the UN) passes international conventions, which signatory nations then pass into their law. There are 147 member nations of the IMO. These conventions cover pollution (MARPOL as Andy says, which covers air pollution, oil pollution, garbage, sewage wastes), the construction and operation of the ship with regards to safety (SOLAS), the training of crew (STCW), working conditions (MLC2006), security (ISPS), and operations and maintenance of the ships (ISM). These regulations apply to all shipping, not just cruise ships. Remember, cruise ships make up only about 5% of the world's shipping tonnage, and cruise ship crews make up about 10% of the 1.8 million mariners around the world. Yes. Many countries have gone over and above the international laws, for instance there are ECA's (Emission Control Areas), where as Andy says, the sulfur limits on fuels are severely restricted. These areas are the Baltic, North Sea, and North America. Additionally, EU ports require special fuels or shore power when a ship is docked. Some countries, notably the US enact stricter regulations regarding safety, training, certification, and inspection than the international conventions allow, but by those conventions, these stricter laws only apply to ships that fly the US flag. Typically, all food, beverages, alcohol, and other supplies (replacements for dishes and glassware, everything that is needed to operate the hotel), engine parts and supplies, are loaded at the embarkation port. I don't think that Viking does a "behind the scenes" tour, but you can google this for other cruise lines, or there are TV shows about cruise ships that show the intricate dance that is embarkation loading. Only on longer cruises, say 3 weeks or more, will they load food again, outside of the embarkation port. This can vary depending on the itinerary, but lets say every 2-3 weeks on average. And, the fuel bill is $1-3 million each time.

The 40 milliamp limit on the shaver outlet is because the ship does not use a GFCI in wet areas like in the US.

The fine is actually levied against the cruise line by the CBP, but the ticket contract allows the cruise line to pass the fine to you. The problem is, that the cruise line, since they are responsible, are not allowed to do a "pre-planned" violation. For early disembarkations that do not violate the PVSA, pre-covid RCI charged $165 per person, for the cost of the additional paperwork this disembarkation requires be submitted to CBP, since the cruise is no longer technically a "closed loop" cruise anymore, since the passenger manifest has changed.

They left at a US port other than the embarkation port. That is why they were fined. The OP wants to disembark in Mexico, so the PVSA (not the Jones Act, despite what the cruise line states) is not applicable.

No, they are not. They are subject to penalties if you disembark at a US port other than the embarkation port. Disembarkation from a closed loop cruise at a foreign port does not violate the PVSA.

Just know that the shaver outlet is current limited. A nightlight that is rated more than 4 watts will blow the fuse.

Seawise Giant, scrapped in 2010. While her GT is just about the same as Oasis, her "deadweight" tonnage (the weight of cargo she can carry) is 560,000 tons, and an Oasis class ship weighs around 90-100,000 tons.

What you are referring to is the new trend to "reverse bows". This makes the waterline length longer for a given overall length, and therefore the theoretical "hull speed" is greater (the most efficient speed to push the hull through the water). Without flare, the bows will not rise with a wave, but will tend to cut through the wave, so there will be less pitching, but the bow area will be significantly "wetter" (the entire front end of the ship will take far more green water than a flared bow).

Search for European or 220/240v power strip. Here's one I found in a couple of seconds on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mscien-European-Individual-Universal-Extension/dp/B0B5DNQYN6/ref=sr_1_5?gclid=CjwKCAjwzNOaBhAcEiwAD7Tb6FvbvBFnYLdmXvOPkr_Ph4EzOnDcyjSiEFtKsI_SEE0i-NfVoFWgEBoC_asQAvD_BwE&hvadid=177299324389&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9002526&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=3788591134455117981&hvtargid=kwd-3007476141&hydadcr=18911_9698412&keywords=power+strip+european&qid=1666532198&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjUxIiwicXNhIjoiMi42NCIsInFzcCI6IjEuNDYifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-5

Yes, the circuit breaker is acceptable. You should know that this circuit breaker (I'm assuming this is a "normal" US consumer power strip) only opens the "hot" leg as defined in the US, and the "neutral leg is not interrupted. However, on a ship, both legs carry power at voltages above ground, so a truly safe power strip has a circuit breaker that opens both legs. Opening only one leg of a shipboard circuit would still leave you vulnerable to shock or fire, as current could continue to flow. A European power strip (available in the US) has a double pole breaker, and is what ships use for crew use.

"Split hull"? Do you mean the split superstructure? And, remember, these cruise ships are not even close to the largest ships ever built. The largest tanker ever built could carry 6 Oasis class ships.

Except that you disregard the shape of the hull at bow and stern. The bow has "flare", where it widens dramatically above the waterline. This is done for a purpose, so that as the bow enters a wave, there is more volume in the bow to provide more buoyancy, to raise the bow above the wave. The stern, on the other hand, has a relatively flat surface at the waterline (especially for azipod ships), that when forced down by the bow rising, presents more surface area to the water, and therefore requires more force to move the stern an equivalent amount as the bow. The ship will pitch around the center of buoyancy, which is aft of midships, so the moment arm that an aft cabin experiences is shorter than a forward one, and hence moves less distance vertically.

No need for this. If the packet has a state tax stamp on it, that verifies that the packet was purchased in the US. You will notice that duty free cigarettes have no tax stamp on them.

"Fancy like Applebee's on a date night"

This could be part of it, but I have also experienced quite a bit of "non-communication" between Operations and Technical, so Operations may have been aware of it, but pooh-poohed it and kicked the can down the road. Believe me, cruise lines make money in spite of their best efforts.

Regardless of whether the hydrogen powers a diesel engine, or a fuel cell, you have to load, store, and handle hydrogen fuel. Hydrogen can be stored as a compressed gas (about 700 bar or about 10,000psi), as a cryogenic liquid (like LNG), at -253*C (-423*F, while LNG only requires -160*C, or -256*F), or bound to a liquid carrier like ammonia, or an "organic liquid hydrogen carrier", both of which storage methods require energy to release the hydrogen. Class society DNV has a study panel working on handling and storage of hydrogen, but they say the challenges are still quite large, especially for upsizing from small experimental plants. There are two small ferries, one in Norway, and one in the UK (IIRC) that are using hydrogen fueled fuel cells. The methods of testing are on a "risk balanced basis", meaning they will test at small scale (small, but non-zero risk to public) until it is a proven technology, and then start gradual upsizing.